New quarterly scorecards will allow industry to monitor the performance of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is exposing itself to industry scrutiny through the launch of a new initiative that will detail the agency’s performance in quarterly instalments.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto launched the first quarterly performance scorecard at the Australian Trucking Association’s (ATA) national conference, Trucking Australia.
The single page document summarises the NHVR’s work over the past nine months, covering its efforts to improve productivity, safety and service standards and what is being done to improve relationships with industry.
“It’s the first time that we’ve been openly public about what we have been achieving and delivering and I think that’s a good step. You need to understand what we are doing and you need to understand what is being delivered,” Petrocitto told Trucking Australia attendees during his address to the conference.
“On a regular basis you will start to see what I am doing, how I’m going, what we are achieving through these quarterly snapshots and you can start to gauge and measure my performance.
According to the document, the NHVR has secured 47 new access notices to reduce the need for heavy vehicle permits, while managing to achieve 554 pre-approvals to address ‘last mile’ access issues.
The NHVR adds that 156 of the approvals have been lodged for gazettal to remove the requirement for trucking operators to apply for permits.
The snapshot goes on to list the NHVR’s efforts to improve the Performance Based Standards (PBS) scheme and heavy vehicle permit applications.
“For example, we made significant changes to how access applications are submitted and assessed, with the result that 90 per cent of valid permit applications are now delivered to state and local government road managers within one business day,” Petroccitto says.
“This helps reduce the overall time taken to issue a permit and get vehicles on the road sooner.”
There are still issues with the time local and state governments are taking to process permits, but Petroccitto says turnaround times are improving.
Newly appointed ATA CEO Chris Melham has welcomed the announcement of quarterly performance reports.
“I commend the NHVR on their willingness to post their performance publicly and be held accountable for improvements in safety, productivity and service standards,” he says.
The release of the quarterly snapshot is the latest in the NHVR’s attempts to improve the transparency of its operations.
During this year’s Livestock and Bulk Carriers Association (LBCA) conference, Petroccitto touted the use of an online tool to allow trucking operators to monitor the progress of their permit applications.
Photography: Brad Gardner